US-Backed Agua Caliente Solar Surges To 200 MW

Plant owners NRG and MidAmerican Solar, along with developer First Solar, said today that the Yuma County, Ariz., plant is more than two-thirds complete and is delivering more than 200 megawatts to the grid.

First Solar, which has been struggling in the past year, was obviously happy to tout the quick progress on the plant, notable especially as Republican attacks on the loan guarantee program that are making it possible continue unabated.

“First Solar is very proud of the rapid progress we are making at Agua Caliente,” Jim Lamon, First Solar senior vice president for engineering, procurement and construction and operations and maintenance, said in a statement. “We have achieved record-setting installation velocities, while maintaining our excellent safety record and achieving the highest quality in the industry. It is pleasure to be a part of moving utility scale solar to its rightful place as a dependable and cost-effective power generation source for U.S. and international utilities.”

The companies said that on average between 400 to 450 workers are on the job at Agua Caliente every day.

At 200 MW, Agua Caliente appears to be close to the generating capacity of the Gujarat Solar Park in India, which claims 214 MW of PV, although it’s not entirely clear if it is actually operating at that capacity.

In any case, the title of largest PV plant is a moving target; Gujarat plans to get bigger, and work is under way in San Luis Obispo County, Calif., on the 550-MW Topaz Solar Farm, which is owned exclusively by MidAmerican Solar and is also being developed by First Solar using the company’s thin-film PV modules.